1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for automatically measuring the density of an object.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
In certain industries an important parameter to measure for quality assurance is the density of the product at an intermediate or final production stage. For example, in the production of nuclear fuel pellets made from sintered UO.sub.2 it is necessary to ensure that the density of the pellets is within a narrow specified range to ensure that the pellets are suitable for their application.
In a known system for automatically measuring the density of objects such as nuclear fuel pellets it is known to measure the density by measuring the weight and the volume and by dividing one by the other. The volume is measured indirectly by measuring the dimensions of the objects and applying a geometrical formula to calculate the volume. Errors can occur if defects such as chips exist on the surface of the object.